Means for and method of igniting fuel



R. F. ENSI GN. MEANS FOR AND METHOD OF IGNITING FUEL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 21, 1918.

Patented Apr. 26, 1921.,

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ROY FRANCIS ENSIGN, OF PASADENA, CALIFORNIA.

MEANS FOR AND METHOD OF IGNITING FUEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 26, 1921.

Application fi led January 21, 1918. Serial No. 213,060.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Roy FRANCIS ENSIGN, a citizen of the United States, residing at 903 Oakland avenue, in the city of Pasadena, county of Los Angeles, and State of California, have invented and discovered a new and useful Means for and Method of Igniting Fuels, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a spark plug which is adapted for lighting mixtures of liquid fuel and air in combustion chambers or in the open air and I have discovered that by holding liquid hydrocarbon or the like fuel in the form of a disk by capillary attraction in the center of a gap between two surfaces and causing an electric are between two points in close proximity to an edge of the liquid disk thus held, a sheet of flame will be produced practically in parallelism with the gap.

An object of the invention is to insure a clear and free passage for the electric spark irrespective of the presence of a quantity of liquid fuel between the electrodes. A principle of the invention and discovery is the employment of capillary attraction to insure .such clearance of electrode surfaces to allow the electric current to form an arc,-

despite flooding the electrodes with liquid fuel, and to effectively deliver fuel to such are to form a flame.

Further objects are simplicity, ease of construction and certainty of action.

The discovery and invention is applicable in various forms and for various purposes, the essential feature being the juxtaposition of two electrode faces unobstructed throughout and of sufficient area to cause a capillary attraction sufficient to draw from the electrode margins to and toward the electrode axis any fuel contacting with the electrode faces, so as to clear the passage for an electric spark between part or all of the rims or edges of the electrodes.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention may appear'from the accompanying drawing. the subjoined detail description and the appended claims.

The accompanying drawing illustrates the invention in a form deemed most advisable.

Figure l is an axial section of a spark plug constructed in accordance with this invention and ready for insertion into and connection with a combustion chamber, not shown.

Fig. 2 is a plan of the under side of the spark plug shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a face View of the two electrodes detached.

Egg. 4 is an enlarged side elevation of the two electrodes with a body of liquid hydrocarbon held by capillary attraction between the juxtaposed faces in the presence of air and ignited by an electric arc atone edge, thus producing a sheet of flame.

The disconnected and entirely separate electrodes 1, 2, are of the same peripheral form and dimensions preferably circular as shown, and their juxtaposed facesare plain and fiat and continuous and unobstructed throughout and are arranged in parallelism to each other and are spaced apart a short distance relatively small compared to the diameter of the electrode faces a, b.

In practice I .have used circular electrodes gths of an inch diameter spaced nd of an inch apart and arranged co-axially.

In the drawing the electrode 2 is supported from a tubular shell 3 by means of angular or bent wire brackets 4, the radial arms 5 of which are inserted in sockets 6 bored into the edge of the electrode 2. The

parallel limbs 7 are inserted into holes 8 in the inner end of the shell 3 which is threaded at 9 for insertion into a suitable support. The shell is provided at its upper end with aseat 10 to receive the collar 11 of the porcelain insulator 12 and the upper end of the shell 3 is threaded at 13 to receive the gland nut 14Ev which screws down upon the collar 11 to hold the insulator 12 in place. The electrode 1 is provided with a central socket 15 in which is fixed the conductor 16 which may be a rod or wire of the usual noncorrosiveconducting material such as nickel alloys. The electrodes and brackets are also preferably made of the said material. The outer end intended to be submerged in the fuel and if any limited quantity of the fuel such as liquid hydrocarbon comes into contact with the adjacent faces of the electrodes it will not obstruct the circuit, but will be sufficiently drawn by capillary attra'ction from the peripheries of the electrodes to allow the electric spark to jump across the gap between the electrodes. The effect is to gasify and ignite the edges of a sheet of liquid fuel thus held centrally between the electrodes; and thereupon a long stream of ignited gas will be shot radially from the spark gap, thus producing a very sudden and violent ignition of the fuel vapors surrounding the electrodes.

With the construction set forth, under operation in the open air, an arc will be formed by the circuit across the gap between the electrode surfaces a, b: but .if the electrodes are submerged in liquid hydrocarbon, the circuit is thereby kept open and the electrodes are insulated from each other. It is therefore understood that the spark plug is not adapted for ignition when the electrodes are so submerged, but is only expected to be effective under ordinary circumstances when the edges or some portion thereof may be kept free, so that the spark may jump from one to the other of such free portion.

By reference to Fig. 1 it will be understood that the edges 0 of the liquid hydrocarbon fuel sheet d are attenuated and theperipheral surface of such sheet is extended by the grooved character thereof to large.

-may result from the condensation from a mixture of air and fuel circulating in the vicinity of the electrodes. 1

The ignition particularly desired in this connection is the first ignition in starting combustion imachamberor in the open air, and it is observed that when the electrodes are within a heated chamber the oil is dissipated by the heat and the necessity of ignition by the method and means is suspended until the electrodes and the surroundings become cool enough to allow an accumulation of the liquid fuel to again occur between the electrodes.

By this invention and discovery drowning out of the ignition is easily avoided in all ordinary oil burning practice.

It is understood that at the outset the arc will jump as indicated at 0 but that immediately after the flame f is produced the current flows through the volatilized carbon, the combustion of which supports the flame. Consequently the electric current and the vapors unite in their action to produce'a large body of flame surface to ignite the flowing air and fuel mixture that is to be combusted.

I claim e i v 1. A spark plug provided with electrodes having juxtaposed surfaces and being spaced apart to form a gap that is unobstructed throughout the space within the perimeters of said surfaces and being of diameters sufliciently exceeding the width of the gap between said surfaces toallow capillary attraction acting upon liquid fuel between the electrodes to withdraw from the electrode edges a sufficient portion of such fuel to expose the edges of the electrode to allow the passage of the spark between the electrodes though they are drenched with such fuel.

2. A spark plug comprising two electrodes from either of them and of considerably less width than the diameter of the electrode faces so that capillary attraction may act to free the edges from the presence of liquid hydrocarbon fuel in case the same comes in contact with such faces. Y

-3. A spark 'plug comprising electrodes having disk-like flat opposed faces spaced apart a distance sufiiciently less than the diameter of' said disk-like faces to allow capillary attraction tohold liquid fuel at the centers of the gap and to sufficiently free the edges of the electrodes to allow an electric spark to .jump across the gap irrespective of the presence of liquid hydro-v carbon on such electrodes insufficient in quantity to submerge the faces of the electrodes.

4. The .method of i iting mixtures of liquid fuel and air whic consists in holdin an air surrounded sheet of such fuel by capillary attraction and producingan electric are at an edge of such sheet.

5. The method set forth of igniting mixtures of liquid fuel and air which consists in attenuatin air surrounded edges of a sheet of suc liquid fuel by means of nah/ease a capillary attraction betweenflatunobstructed attenuating an edge of a sheet of such liqfaces of two terminals and igniting the atuid' in air and producing an electric are at tenuated edges. such edge, thereby igniting the attenuated 6. The method set forth of igniting mixedge.

5 tures of liquid fuel and air which consists In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set 15 in attenuating an edge of a sheet of such my hand at Los Angeles, California, this liquid in air and igniting the attenuated 11th day of January, 1918. edge. I ROY FRANCIS fENS'IGN.

7. The method set forth of igniting mix Witness 10 tures of liquid fuel and air which consists in JAMES R. TOWNSEND. 

